


Love You Goodbye

by superallens



Series: ColdFlash One Shots [5]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Break Up, Hurt No Comfort, Kissing, M/M, kinda angsty, kinda sad, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 04:58:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7999435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superallens/pseuds/superallens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Len says Goodbye to Barry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love You Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by "Love You Goodbye" by One Direction.

Barry rushed around his apartment. He picked up stray jackets, shoes, and empty bowls to make his place spotless. Len liked clean environments, so Barry did everything in his power,  _literally_ , to provide that for him. He liked making Len happy, and cleaning his apartment never hurt anyone.

As he finished folding one of his blankets, the really fuzzy shadow blue one that was über soft to be exact, he heard a soft knock on his door. Barry smiled as he gently set the blanket down on the charcoal gray arm chair.

Len had texted him saying he wanted to come over a few hours prior, giving Barry just enough time to shower, eat, and clean up his place. Even with super speed, cleaning up was a time consuming activity. It wasn’t his fault that he got easily distracted when doing miscellaneous jobs such as wiping down the kitchen counter. 

Barry and Len’s one year anniversary was soon approaching and Barry had a whole night planned out. He and Len were to go to a nice dinner at Saint Angelo’s, have a walk in the park, then go back to Barry’s place where Barry would give Len two gifts- a new sweater and a key to his place. 

The two men were practically attached at the hip when they first got together. Sure, they had their problems, all couples did, but they always got through them together, making them stronger and happier in the process. Most nights, Len stayed over at Barry’s, so it made sense to make it official and ask Len to move in with him.

With a toothy grin on his face, Barry practically glided to his front door and opened it. Barry’s breathing hitched when he saw the man in front of him.

Len was beautiful. His dark gray sweater was fitted yet loose, his black jeans hugged his legs like they never wanted to let go, and his black trench coat swayed around his calves melodically. The swaying motion could put someone in a trance. 

Barry’s eyes traveled up to Len’s face. His heart stopped when he stared into Len’s beautiful blue eyes. The color never seized to amaze Barry. The second he really saw them, they became his new favorite color.

Barry was so happy to see Len that he hadn’t noticed how Len stood a tad more stiff and his eyebrow furrowed just a hint more than usual. He didn’t notice the emptiness in his lover’s eyes or his slightly clenched fists.

“Len,” Barry breathed. “Hi.”

“Hello, Barry.”

“You look beautiful.” Len simply nodded his head. Barry opened the door wider so his partner could slip past him and enter the apartment.

Len looked around at the apartment as he walked down the hall, past the kitchen, and into the small living room. “You cleaned up.”

“Yeah, I know you’re more comfortable when it’s cleaner, so I just figured…” Barry trailed off, a blush burning his cheeks. Len flashed a quick half smile at Barry before he sat down on the arm chair. 

Barry’s eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly as he sat down on the matching charcoal gray love seat. Len always sat in the same place when he was at Barry’s; the left side of the love seat with the throw pillow sitting on his lap. Barry sat in his usual seat, the right side of the love seat, and faced Len, who was sitting so close yet so far away.

“You good?” Len’s face hardened.

“Barry, we need to talk.” Barry’s eyebrows furrowed even more as his heart stopped in a completely different way from earlier. Instead of happiness, he felt scared and a little bit surprised. Barry’s seen all those romantic movies with Iris, he knew what those five words meant.

“Okay,” Barry drawled out, an obvious inflection in his voice. “Let’s talk.”

“Are you happy?”

“You’re making me nervous, Len.”

“Are you happy?” Len asked once more. Barry folded his hands in his lap as he leaned against the couch.

“Yeah, I am. Everything has been going pretty well lately- not as many metas, Singh is getting off my back, Wally and I are getting along, I have my friends, I have my family, I have  _you._ I’m pretty happy at the moment,” Barry whispered the last bit, making it so Len could barely hear it. 

Len stared at Barry, his expression blank, before he gave a curt nod.

“How about you, are you happy?”

“No.” Barry hadn’t expected Len to be so blunt. Then again, Len was a straight forward man.

“You wanna talk about it?” Barry asked softly as he reached his hand out to Len. Len ignored the gesture.

“I did say we need to talk.”

“Okay.” There was a long, uncomfortable pause. The tension could be cut with a knife.

“Barry…” Len sighed, breaking eye contact with Barry and ducking his head down.

“Yes?”

“We should break up.” The thing is, Barry knew this was coming. He knew it the second Len had sat down. Barry only then realized that Len had never taken off his coat. Len wasn’t planning on staying long. Barry scoffed.

“If you’re going to break up with me, at least have the decency to look me in the eye.”

“I don’t want to hurt you more than I already am.”

“Too late for that, Leonard,” Barry retorted. “Go on, twist the knife.”

Len’s mouth tightened as he looked Barry straight in the eye. Barry’s hazel eyes were filled with not just hurt and sadness, but also anger. Len never wanted to be the cause of this. “I think we should break up.”

“Did I do something? I just- I thought things were going so well,” Barry cracked, his body slumping into the couch. “I was going to ask you to move in with me on our anniversary.”

“Oh.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“You didn’t do anything. It’s me.”

“Oh this is too good! You couldn’t even come up with something better than the whole “its me, not you” speech for me. Thanks,” Barry said bitterly. He knew he was over reacting, he knew Len wasn’t happy, but Barry was breaking on the inside, all because of those four little words.

“Breathe, Scarlet, breathe.” Barry took a deep breath before pulling his legs up onto the couch. 

“I’m sorry, I just- I wasn’t expecting this. I thought things were going so well, I was happy and I thought you were too,” Barry whispered. Len didn’t reply.

“I just wanna know… why?”

“I love you, Barry. I always will. I just can’t be in a relationship right now.” Barry looked down at his folded hands and nodded as he rested his head on top of his hands. His hands were resting on his knees as he curled into himself.

“Is it Rogues stuff?” Barry whispered.

“What?”

“Is it the Rogues?”

“The Rogues aren’t your business.” Len said cooly. Barry frowned and didn’t reply.

“I’ve overstayed my welcome,” Len muttered as he stood up from the chair. He smoothed his monochromatic outfit out before heading towards the door.

“Len, wait,” Barry said as he hauled himself off the couch. Len paused in the hallway and waited for Barry to come up to him. “I’m sorry. I know you don’t like talking about that type of stuff with me.”

Len tucked his hands into his pockets. “Mmm”

“Will I ever see you again?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I hope I do though.”

“Can I have one last kiss then?”

“That’s not a good idea-”

“Please?” Len and Barry held intense eye contact before Len’s hard demeanor faded away. Len cradled Barry’s face in his hands. Len’s hands weren't cold like they normally were, they were warm and comforting against Barry’s cheeks. Barry held onto the flaps of Len’s coat as Len kissed him. It was short and sweet, a nice goodbye.

Len’s lips were gone as quick as they were there. In that short amount of time, the entirety of their relationship flashed before Barry’s eyes. He remembered their first date at the park, going for coffee, the stolen kisses- he remembered everything. 

When Barry opened his eyes, a tear slipped down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away before Len could see it. 

Barry and Len stood there, Len’s hands still cradling Barry’s face and Barry’s hands fiddling with Len’s coat. A small chuckle escaped Barry’s lips as his fingers toyed with the felt-like fabric.

“Why are you wearing this to walk out of my life, it’s my favorite,” Barry quipped, trying to lighten up the mood. Len let out a sharp exhale. It wasn’t quite a laugh, but it was something. 

Len’s hands left Barry’s face and Barry’s hands dropped to his side. 

“I have to go.”

“Bye, Lenny.”

“Goodbye, Barry.” And with that, Barry watched as Len slipped out of his apartment without a second glance.

Len was like a storm that day and Barry was stuck in the eye of it. He had left as fast as he came and left a damaged Barry in it’s quake. 

When the door clicked shut, Barry walked back into the living room and sat in the seat Len had been sitting him. He unfolded the fuzzy, shadow blue blanket and snuggled into the chair. It still smelt like Len. 

Barry felt empty as silent tears slipped down his face. The only warmth he felt was from the blanket that was wrapped around him. The faux fur was pressed up against his nose, for Barry’s fists were holding the blanket in place. Faint drafts of Len’s cologne wafted into his nose. He missed him already.

“I love you too, Len. And I always will,” Barry whispered too little too late.

**Author's Note:**

> Whoops, that was a little bit more sad than usual? I think? I typically write more sad fics but idk.  
> Hope you guys liked this, let me know what you think in the comments, I love hearing feedback! If there's any prompts you'd like to see in the future, let me know (you can message me on my tumblr, @BarryAndLen ) Thank you for reading!!


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